Social and Economic Justice

Achievement in the Fight Against Women's Exclusion

On Sunday, the government approved a rule proposed by Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat (who also heads the Ministerial Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women) and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, requiring all ministries to report on the actions they have taken to prevent women's exclusion from the public sphere. The government also asked Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, Health Minister Yael German, Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Religious Services Minister Naftali Bennett to present a detailed plan showing how they intend to implement past recommendations aimed at preventing the exclusion and segregation of women.

In a joint statement, Livnat and Livni said: "Eradicating the unacceptable and despicable phenomenon of excluding women from the public sphere will lead not only to the empowerment of women, but to the empowerment of Israeli society as a whole."

Just over a year ago, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein instructed the government to immediately stop the exclusion and segregation of women in the public sphere.

SHATIL's Merav Livneh Dill, who works with a coalition of NIF grantees active in the campaign against the exclusion of women, said: "This is an encouraging and important step towards our main goal of making government ministries take responsibility for following-up on the problem."